polishing a stainless steel slide

[charlieb]

I want to attempt polishing my sig 226 stainless steel slide. Can anyone give me some advice or tell me some of the pitfalls to attempting this myself?

 

[T. O'Heir]

Use any metal polish. Flitz or jeweller's rouge come to mind. A light touch using a cloth wheel in a bench grinder with jeweller's rouge will be faster. Eye protection is mandatory.
Don't polish the top. Causes glare that'll make the sights hard to see in strong light. If they don't disappear altogether.

 

[LHB1]

Just a note to remind you that the smoother and more shiny the surface, the more each tiny future micro scratch will show up. They will be more obvious on the shiny surface than with a slightly matte SS surface.

 

[charlieb]

Thanks guys- will give it a try-

I took a used one in on trade and the guy had painted it with a can of silver spray paint- so I used lacquer thinner to get the paint off and the nitron finish was all but gone when the paint was removed.

I figure I don't have anything to lose by trying and I can always have it refinished professionally if I do not like how it looks.

 

[si vis pacem para b]

post some pics when your done. I am doing the same to my 1911 Its looking pretty sweet already.

 

[Getcha' Pull]

I'd suggest having it bead blasted over polishing. Bead blast will leave a nice satin finish versus a shiny "chrome" look, unless that's what you're going for.

And yes, it's going to show finger prints, scratches, oil, everything much worse than a bead blasted finish.